More speed changes increase fitness demands in eventing

A study has found a way to consider how much energy horses use, and what can affect the demand

- By BECKY MURRAY

RESEARCHERS have developed a way to estimate how much energy horses use across country, which could benefit riders, trainers, vets and course-designers.

In a study published in Animals, the German Olympic equestrian committee (DOKR) and university of Berlin researchers looked at demands on horses across country at two- to five-star events.

They developed a model, based on 691 runs by more than 250 horses, by combining heart rate and blood lactate data with course information. Key findings included that terrain, speed and speed variability influence energy demands, and short-format runs generally require more anaerobic effort than the long format.

“In general, anaerobic contribution to energy consumption during cross-country is only about 10% at most, indicating that 90% or more of energy requirements are supplied by aerobic pathways. Increasing the aerobic capacity of the horses should therefore be a primary goal of effective training programmes,” coauthor Katharina Kirsch told H&H.